Title

Author

Date of Conferral

2019

Degree

Doctor of Business Administration (D.B.A.)

School

Business Administration

Advisor

Richard Snyder

Abstract

The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies that well-established home recording studio owners in a city in the southeastern United States have used to compete in the recording industry. Four home recording studio owners served as participants. Each participant owned and operated a home studio business in the target area for longer than 10 years. Porter's 5 competitive forces model and Christensen's disruptive innovation theory were the conceptual lenses for this study. Interviews, direct observations, and website documents were the 3 data collection sources used to achieve methodological triangulation. The data were analyzed using Yin's 5-step thematic approach to qualitative data analysis: compiling, disassembling, reassembling, interpreting, and concluding. Four themes emerged from the analysis of the data: doing business and making money with friends, keeping the family safe and the studio secure, decoupling the clock from the creative process, and linking strategy to personal goals. The findings of this study may contribute to positive social change by economically empowering aspiring entrepreneurs to become small business owners and create new jobs that help strengthen their local economies.